BY TV10 Gano Mazima Desk
Robert Francis Prevost, the first pope from the United States, has a history of missionary work in Peru and a keen understanding of the Church’s inner workings. The new Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, was entrusted by his predecessor Francis to head the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, tasked with advising the pontiff on new bishop appointments.
The sign of confidence from Francis speaks to Prevost’s commitment as a missionary in Peru to the “peripheries” – overlooked areas far from Rome prioritized by Francis – and his reputation as a bridge-builder and moderate within the Curia.
The 69-year-old Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo, Peru, was made a cardinal by Francis in 2023 after being named prefect of the dicastery, one of the Vatican’s most important departments. This role introduced him to all key players in the Church.
Vatican watchers had given Prevost high chances of being elected pope among the group of US cardinals, given his pastoral approach, global perspective, and ability to navigate the central bureaucracy. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica described him as “the least American of the Americans” due to his soft-spoken nature.
His strong grounding in canon law has also been seen as reassuring to more conservative cardinals seeking a greater focus on theology. “We can’t stop, we can’t turn back,” Prevost said in an interview with Vatican News. “We have to see how the Holy Spirit wants the Church to be today and tomorrow, because today’s world, in which the Church lives, is not the same as the world of ten or 20 years ago.”
“The message is always the same: proclaim Jesus Christ, proclaim the Gospel,” he added, “but the way to reach today’s people, young people, the poor, and politicians is different.”
Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Prevost attended a minor seminary of the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis as a novice before graduating from Philadelphia’s Villanova University, an Augustinian institution, with a degree in mathematics.
After receiving a master’s degree in divinity from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and a doctorate in canon law in Rome, the polyglot joined the Augustinians in Peru in 1985 for his first decade-long mission in the country.
Returning to Chicago in 1999, he was made provincial prior of the Augustinians in the US Midwest and later the prior general of the order worldwide. However, he returned to Peru in 2014 when Francis appointed him as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in the country’s north.
Nearly a decade later, Prevost’s appointment as head of the dicastery came after Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet was accused of sexually assaulting a woman and resigned due to age reasons. The Vatican later dropped the case against Ouellet due to insufficient evidence. Prevost also serves as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
